Hi guys. Ok, I know this probably sounds weird, but I remember reading a post about using glycerin to rehydrate snuff. Biotene is a mouth moisturiser/rinse that contains glycerin among other things. It does have some saccharides in it, but i would only need a minute amount. I figured I would ask…anybody try this? Maybe it would just turn the snuff into a snuffball. I know you can use essential oils and such so just curious…thanks!
Biotene is not the best option. Too many ingredients. There are better choices:
If you want to use a readily available chemical to rehydrate snuff, there are two ideal options.
Straight Xylitol, available in both supermarkets and health food stores, which is hydrophilic (sucks water out of the air), and although used as a sweetener in foods, should not add a sweet note in the nose.
The other is Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), available in any drugstore as a powdered laxative. It is a close relative of Propylene Glycol, used in many commercial pipe tobaccos and snuffs to retain moisture. It is a hydrophilic as well, and flavorless. The hydrophilic aspect is why it serves as a laxative when used internally. If you snuff a trace of it, you will not get that intestinal effect, since big scoops are required.
@cpmcdill…thx! Glad i checked first this time.im afraid my “snuff radar” is always on when i come across possible hydration, flavouring, and storage items…theres been a few additive disasters over the years for sure,so im a little more restrained with experimentation now. : ) looks like the biotene has the xylitol in it too, but i think youre right that theres just too much other stuff as well.
I’ve tried a bunch of rehydration methods, and find that what works best for me is a slice of apple, or a slice of carrot. I’ve also used lemon peel, as well as the bottle cap trick I read about on this site. I don’t think I’d use the polyethylene, but since we have a bottle of it in the medicine chest I may try it. I’ve also added distilled water to dried out snuff, that had a learning curve I had to get over. If I simply dripped the water into the snuff, the result was less than great; however, if I mixed the water into the snuff, and stirred it until it was absorbed, then it was much better after a day or two’s rest.
The best way I’ve found to rehydrate pipe tobacco and snuff is the passive way. Put the snuff or pipe tobacco in a small clean container. I usually have small mason jars. Get distilled water and put it in a small container. Put both of them in a container with a lid and let it sit and rehydrate. Stir up the tobacco every once in awhile to get it consistent. Times will vary.
I find putting the open tin in a tupperware box with some damp paper towel next to it works quicker. As the wet paper towel has a greater surface area, it evaporates quicker therefore making the air more humid and allowing the tobacco to absorb it quicker. Overnight is fine for most snuffs, sometimes 2-3 days for coarser snuffs dependent on how badly they had dried out. Also, as the air is being humidified by evaporation, it doesn’t need to be distilled water, as that is all that is going into the air/tobacco anyway.
I use distilled because I have it around the house. Haven’t tried the paper towel method. Sounds like a good idea.
Yes, Biotene sounds like a really poor idea for a rehydrating agent. @50ft_trad similar to the paper towel method, ive used wet tea bags. Works good too. I was hoping the biotene would be an instant solution and something i had on hand,but all the extra ingredients spoil it i suppose.
Ive always just used tap water. Sometimes ill just add a lil directly to the tin and shake. Maybe ive gone nose blind, but i cant tell any difference.though its probably better to use distilled. I guess im lucky, my tap water is really good now. When i lived in downtown Chicago though in a hundred year old building, i had “hard” water and it smelled rancid Im not even sure how the dept. of health and public safety overlooked that. In my area of California, most of the h2o comes from the Sierra Nevada Mountain snow pack, so its rather pure with the addition of fluoride,chlorine,and pesticides
@Chicago_CA I like the tea bag idea =D> I will consider that one as I tend to drink a lot of herbal teas, Berry Fruits, Peppermint, Lemon and Ginger… I might need to be careful how I use them to avoid (or promote) ghosting